News On Japan

Students Mock Wedding for LGBTQ+ Couples

NAHA, Feb 07 (News On Japan) - University students in Okinawa have organized a mock wedding themed around LGBTQ+ marriage.

The event took place at the chapel of Okinawa Christian University in Nishihara.

As gender perspectives become increasingly diverse, the mock wedding was designed for LGBTQ+ couples, with two students each taking on the role of a bride.

This initiative was carried out with the support of organizations such as the Okinawa Future Talent Development Lab and Okinawa Watabe Wedding, both involved in fostering talent for the tourism industry. A total of 55 students from the university’s tourism and cultural studies department spent about two months planning, setting up, and managing the event.

Haruna Kuniyoshi, a first-year student in the tourism and cultural studies department at Okinawa Christian University, said: "We created a wedding ceremony that could inspire LGBTQ+ individuals and those who have yet to come out."

Yuta Kawabuki, also a first-year student in the same department, added: "As diversity grows and times change, I believe that two people in love coming together is a beautiful thing, and that should be the norm."

Through organizing the mock wedding, the students reflected on the concept of a marriage ceremony free from gender constraints.

Source: 沖縄ニュースOTV

News On Japan
POPULAR NEWS

An Idemitsu Kosan crude oil tanker has safely passed through the Strait of Hormuz, becoming the first vessel bound for Japan to do so since attacks on Iran heightened tensions in the region and effectively disrupted maritime traffic.

Japan’s Golden Week holiday period got fully underway on April 29, drawing large crowds to major tourist destinations and airports, where long lines formed as overseas travel surged.

A series of sightings involving unusually large brown bears in Hokkaido has heightened concerns among local residents, with one 330-kilogram animal captured in Tomamae and another 280-kilogram bear attacking a hunter in Shimamaki.

Full-scale Golden Week travel began on April 29, with Chubu Centrair International Airport experiencing its busiest outbound travel day of the holiday period. The airport was crowded from the morning with vacationers heading overseas.

Electricity and gas bills for usage in May will rise slightly in Japan, with the impact of tensions involving Iran expected to appear in utility charges from June onward. Larger increases could follow in subsequent months.

MEDIA CHANNELS
         

MORE Education NEWS

Sakurai City in Nara Prefecture, home to around 920 ancient burial mounds, has drawn renewed attention to one in particular, the Akasaka Tennozan Kofun, as researchers increasingly suggest it may be the true resting place of Emperor Sushun, who ascended the throne in the late sixth century with the backing of powerful statesman Soga no Umako.

About half of public high schools in Osaka Prefecture are failing to meet enrollment quotas, highlighting growing pressure on the region's education system.

In rural Edo-period Japan, men eagerly sought out meshimori onna—inn-based sex workers at roadside stations—even as society simultaneously despised and demonized them. (Linfamy)

Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications on April 22 presented a draft outline of key issues to an expert panel examining protections for minors on social networking services, taking a cautious stance toward blanket age-based access restrictions that have been increasingly introduced overseas.

Japan is turning to foreign workers to address a deepening shortage of bus drivers that has led to route suspensions and reduced services nationwide, including in Tokyo. With the industry projected to face a shortfall of 36,000 drivers by 2030, operators are beginning to recruit and train overseas talent as a short-term solution to keep public transport running.

Japan's annual National Academic Achievement Test began on Monday for sixth-grade elementary school students and third-year junior high school students nationwide.

An entrance ceremony was held on April 18 at the Takarazuka Music School in Hyogo Prefecture, where 40 new students took their first step toward becoming members of the famed Takarazuka Revue.

Japan's medical sector is facing an acute shortage of nurses, triggering a wave of ward closures and even hospital shutdowns. Once regarded as an admired profession and often described as 'angels in white,' nurses are now under mounting strain from long working hours and wages many say do not match the demands of the job.